Brussels, 05/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Barely one in three European travellers know their rights when purchasing their transport tickets. It therefore comes as no surprise that barely a third of travellers who have experienced a problem travelling decide to lodge a complaint.
The result of the Eurobarometer survey presented on Monday 22 December highlights the need to improve communication on this subject. Almost 60% of respondents did not know that they have rights and obligations when using transport services in Europe in all the different modes of transport. Barely 31% of those surveyed were aware of European rules, a percentage that has not improved since 2009 when the last Eurobarometer survey on this subject was carried out. Only 35% of travellers who experienced a problem travelling decided to lodge a complaint but 51% of them were satisfied with the way their complaints were dealt with. Most of those who had not complained considered that it was “ useless” to do so. Nonetheless, half of all passengers who did take this step, said that they were satisfied with the way in which the complaint had been dealt with.
Bolstered by these results, European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, said that one of her priorities would be to ensure that all Europeans were aware of their rights. She also welcomed the progress made for persons with disabilities and reduced mobility, given that 81% of them said that they were satisfied with the assistance that they received when travelling. (MD)